Business Development

Transforming a business district often entails disrupting a cycle. This is especially true in places where the market will not act on its own, or where a community wishes to shift the local economy to anticipate future opportunities or challenges. Based on a sound economic analysis, we design focused tools and incentives to mitigate the sometimes haphazard nature of business development - tools like:

Start-up capital for niche businesses and emerging clusters;

Planning tools and public policy shifts that reduce the barriers to achieving desired development

Community-owned and cooperative business models

Micro-lending, peer-to-peer lending, and crowdfunding

Pop-up business platforms

Independent businesses reflect a commercial district’s personality, and they are crucial to distinguishing one community from another and one shopping area from another. We help civic leaders create an environment that fosters small business growth and innovation.